Skip to main content
Scientific American
  • Cart 0
  • Forgot password?Loading
    Not yet registered?
  • |Stay Informed
Advanced Search
  • The Sciences
  • Mind
  • Health
  • Tech
  • Sustainability
  • Education
  • Video
  • Podcasts
  • Blogs
  • Publications
  • Subscribe
  • Current Issue
  • Cart0
  • Sign In
  • Stay Informed
      • Share
      • Latest

      From Space to Soil in 7 Minutes [Slide Show]

      • Share on Facebook
      • Share on Twitter
      • Share on Reddit
      • Share on LinkedIn
      • Share via
      • Print
      From Space to Soil in 7 Minutes [Slide Show]
      Slideshow (7) images
      View
      Credits: Don Foley

      From Space to Soil in 7 Minutes [Slide Show]

        • Share
      • 7:00 It waits two seconds to confirm that it is on solid ground and fires several pyros (small explosive devices) to cut the cables and a data umbilical cord. The powered descent stage then flies away and crash-lands approximately 450 meters away... Don Foley
      • 6:00 At approximately 20 meters above the Martian surface, the rover is lowered on three cables, a configuration known as the sky crane, and placed on the surface, with its wheels and suspension fully deployed... Don Foley
      • 5:00 By this point, the rover is still supersonic. Designing the chute has been an especially challenging part of the mission. The physics of how a parachute inflates (or oscillates, or does not inflate) at these speeds is not well understood and is extremely difficult to model... Don Foley
      • 4:00 At an altitude of 10 kilometers, the spacecraft deploys a parachute that is 50 meters long and 21.5 meters in diameter. Don Foley
      • Advertisement
      • 3:00 The craft then flies horizontally, burning off speed, as side rocket thrusters steer it toward its landing site. Don Foley
      • 2:00 The capsule ejects ballast (blocks of tungsten) to shift its center of mass and turn it into a wing that can be piloted. It encounters the upper Martian atmosphere at a hypersonic velocity of approximately six kilometers per second... Don Foley
      • 1:00 Tucked inside an entry capsule, the rover first separates from its interplanetary propulsion and power systems. Don Foley
      • Previous
      • Next
      of
      • View all
      • Link copied!
      • 7:00
      • 6:00
      • 5:00
      • 4:00
      • 3:00
      • 2:00
      • 1:00
      Advertisement
      Advertisement

      Newsletter

      Get smart. Sign up for our email newsletter.

      Sign Up

      Go from Quantum to Cosmic

      Scientific American Space & Physics is a roundup of the most important stories about the universe and beyond

      Subscribe Now!Go from Quantum to Cosmic

      Follow us

      • instagram
      • soundcloud
      • youtube
      • twitter
      • facebook
      • rss

      Scientific american arabic

      العربية
      • Store
      • About
      • Press Room
      • FAQs
      • Contact Us
      • Site Map
      • Advertise
      • SA Custom Media
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Use of Cookies
      • International Editions
      Scientific American is part of Springer Nature, which owns or has commercial relations with thousands of scientific publications (many of them can be found at www.springernature.com/us). Scientific American maintains a strict policy of editorial independence in reporting developments in science to our readers.

      © 2019 Scientific American, a Division of Springer Nature America, Inc.

      All Rights Reserved.

      Scroll To Top

      You have free articles left.

      Temp Paywall Img

      Support our award-winning coverage of advances in science & technology.

      Already a subscriber? Sign in.

      Subscribers get more award-winning coverage of advances in science & technology.

      See Subscription Options